Current membership in good standing in the Academy of General Dentistry at the time of application; dental license has not been suspended or revoked within the last five years, and is not currently under probation, suspension, or revocation.

Fellowship in the Academy of General Dentistry. Mastership and Fellowship may not be conferred in the same year.

1100 hours of FAGD/MAGD-approved continuing dental education credit, 400 of which must be in participation courses. Participation hours can be earned at any time during membership with an implementation date of January 1, 2007.

A participation course is defined as one in which all course participants actively manipulate dental material or devices, treat patients or otherwise practice skills or techniques under the supervision of a qualified instructor.

The participation activities must represent a minimum of 30% of total course time and must directly address the educational objectives of the course and be an extension and amplification of the lecture portion of the course.

Attendance at a Convocation ceremony, held during the AGD scientific session to receive the award. Successful candidates are allowed three years following approval to complete this requirement.

Activities Accepted for Mastership Credit

Course Attendance Credit

Continuing Education Courses

Attendance at courses put on by FAGD/MAGD-program providers. Approved program providers include those accepted by the Committee on Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE), intrastate program providers approved by AGD Constituent Academies, or those approved by the ADA's Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP).

Individual intrastate courses may also be approved by the AGD Constituents.

A) Effective July 1, 2009. Beginning with individuals completing a one-year CODA-accredited advanced dental education program (AEGD/GDR/GPR) in 2009, 150 hours of participation credit may be earned. Individuals completing a two-year CODA-accredited advanced dental education program (AEGD/GDR/GPR) in 2009, 300 hours of participation credit may be earned. Credit can be received for non-concurrent completion of both program types for a maximum of 450 hours of participation credit. Credits are apportioned among the subject categories according to a predetermined ratio of subject hours based upon a survey of one- and two-year AEGD/GDR/GPR programs. A copy of the certificate is required to receive credit. Credit is permitted for the completion of programs as follows:

B). Effective with programs ending in June 2014, individuals completing a CODA- or CDAC-accredited advanced specialty education program of one year or more in length, a maximum of 150 hours of participation credit may be earned. A copy of the certificate is required to receive credit.

Current member of AGD 100% of credits are awarded

Join AGD within one (1) year of completion of the program 100% “

Join AGD within two (2) years 75% “

Join AGD within three (3) years 50% “

Join AGD within four (4) years 25% “

Join AGD after four years 0% “

Federal Dental Service Specialty Rotation Programs

Participation in a Federal Dental Service Specialty Rotation Program earns one hour of participation credit for each working day of the program. A maximum of 200 MAGD hours may be applied to the award for this activity.

Self-Instructional Courses

Credit may be earned for completion of audio, audio/visual, written and other self-instructional programs, provided the FAGD/MAGD-approved sponsor verifies satisfactory completion. A maximum of 150 hours of credit may be applied to the award for self-instruction courses. In addition to the 150 hours, 15 hours of self-instructional credit maybe awarded one time only to members completing the post-test from the FAGD Exam Study Guide.

Up to 75 hours of participation credit may be applied to the award for case presentations presented for the purpose of certification/accreditation by PACE/CERP approved dental organizations. Requests by Allied Dental Organizations for participations credits will be reviewed by the Dental Education and/or PACE Councils for final approval.
Other CE Activities for Credit

Teaching/Publications

A combined maximum of 150 hours of lecture credit may be applied toward the Mastership award for the following activities:

Full- or part-time faculty positions at ADA/CDA–accredited institutions. Full-time faculty may receive 100 hours for the completion of the first academic year after joining the AGD and 25 hours each subsequent year; part-time faculty may receive 50 hours for the completion of the first academic year after joining the AGD and 12.5 hours each subsequent year.

Continuing education presentations put on by FAGD/MAGD-program providers. Original presentations receive three hours of credit for each hour of teaching. Repeat presentations receive hour-for-hour credit. Credit will be awarded upon receipt of verification from the program provider.

Authorship of a published scientific article in a dental or scientific journal.

Authorship of a published dental textbook or chapter in a published textbook

Authorship of a case report, technique paper or clinical research report in a dental or scientific journal published in or after July, 2000.

Successfully reviewing and reporting on manuscripts submitted to General Dentistry and other refereed dental journals.

Credit will be awarded as follows:

Published scientific article in a refereed journal.......................................40 hours

Published scientific article in a non-refereed journal................................20 hours

Published dental textbook........................................................................ 40 hours per chapter up to a maximum of 150 hours

Chapter in a published textbook ..............................................................40 hours per chapter

Published case report, technique paper or clinical research report

in a refereed journal ...................................................................10 hours

Published case report, technique paper or clinical research report

in a non-refereed journal ..............................................................5 hours

Draft Self-Assessment or self-instruction quizzes for a peer-reviewed scientific journal…..20 hours per quiz

Subject Category Requirements

A minimum number of credits must be earned in each of the 18 dental subject categories listed below. Of the ‘required minimum’ hours needed in each category, a specific portion must fulfill the ‘participation minimum’ requirements. The difference between the ‘total hours’ and ‘total required’ may be taken from any of the 18 disciplines.

**These changes go into effect January 1, 2017. Any member that has not achieved or applied for Fellowship, Mastership, or LLSR by December 31, 2016, will be expected to meet the updated continuing education requirements.**
Application Procedure and Deadline

Applications must be postmarked no later than December 31 to be considered for the class immediately following the application deadline. The AGD is not responsible for lost or delayed mail. The appropriate fee, which includes a non-refundable processing fee, must accompany the Mastership award application. All MAGD requirements must be completed as of to the December 31 application deadline date. Only the Dental Education Council may determine the acceptability of MAGD award applications. Applications received by December 31 are reviewed by the Council at its spring meeting. Applicants are notified by letter within three weeks of the Council’s decision.

“Resolved, that the Meeting Services Guidelines Scientific Session Fees Annual Meetings Council be amended to read
Scientific Session Fees Annual Meetings Council
AGD member dentist registrants who purchase tickets for scientific sessions and then find that they are elevated to delegate or alternate delegate status may obtain a full refund of their scientific session ticket(s)
REFUNDS FOR TICKETS PURCHASED
Cancellation requests received less than 30 days prior to the first official day of the annual meeting, with the exception of AGD member dentist registrants who have been elevated to delegate or alternate delegate status, will not be eligible for a credit or refund.

If an individual is delayed from joining the Academy as a result of mishandling of the application by either the headquarters or a constituent office, that individual will automatically have their enrollment date backdated to the date of the initial attempt to join. The decision to require payment of back dues will be at the discretion of the Director of Membership if more than one year has elapsed. Under NO circumstances will an individual who has never held membership previously be allowed to pay back dues for the sole purpose of receiving retroactive credit for courses taken prior to membership, unless this is a result of mishandling of their application.

For Prior Members:

An individual whose membership has lapsed may be provided the opportunity to pay back dues for the years lapsed, on an individual basis upon consideration of the Membership Council.’”

Revised HOD 1999
Organizational Marketing Guidelines

1 In the United States, an increase of just one primary care physician is associated with 1.44 fewer deaths per 10,000 persons; adults with a primary care physician rather than a specialist had 33% lower costs of care after adjusting for demographic and health characteristics (Starfield, 2006). Patients with a regular primary care physician have lower overall health care costs than those without one (Weiss & Blustein, 1996; De Maeseneer, De Prins, Gosset, & Heyerick, 2003). Higher ratios of primary care physicians to population are associated with reduced hospitalization rates (Parchman & Culler, 1994). Patients with a regular primary care provider have 19% lower mortality (Franks & Fiscella, 1998), are 7% more likely to stop smoking, and are 12% less likely to be obese (Arora, et al., 2009). Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry. The Redesign of Primary Care with Implications for Training. Eighth Annual Report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and to the U.S. Congress. January, 2010.

2 According to 2011 statistics provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 81.4% percent of children ages 2-17 had at least one dental visit in the previous year, that percentage dropped to 61.6% for adults ages 18-64. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/dental.htm (January, 2014).

31 The American Dental Association officially recognizes nine specialty areas of dental practice: oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, and dental public health. The procedures for referral to specialists, consulting dentists and other settings of care are generally the same. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, the term "specialists" in these general guidelines can be read to include non specialists and other settings to which the treating dentist makes a referral. The referral process is an integral part of dental practice. These guidelines place special emphasis on communications and facilitating and improving the referral process.

4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 2000. NIH publication 00-4713. Available from: URL: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/oralhealth/

10 “A review of public health education interventions found that studies aiming to increase knowledge were successful, but the effect of information acquisition on behaviour was uncertain. It concluded that health education interventions alone are insufficient to change behaviour but can be effective when combined with environmental or legislative changes” (U.K. Study). Also, “)) In the latest Research!America poll, 97 percent responded that oral health was somewhat or very important to overall health, yet oral health is a top unmet need for many.” Susan A. Fisher-Owens, Judith C. Barker, Sally Adams, Lisa H. Chung, Stuart A. Gansky, Susan Hyde and Jane A. Weintraub. Giving Policy Some Teeth: Routes To Reducing Disparities In Oral Health. Health Affairs, 27, no.2 (2008):407

11 U.K. Study…

12 U.K. Study

13 Pew’s ER Report, 2012, p. 3.

14 Pew’s ER Report, 2012

15 AAPD Policy 2011 Council on Clinical Affairs. New Zea­land, known for utilizing dental therapists since the 1920’s and frequently referenced as a workforce model for consideration in the US, recently completed its first nationwide oral health status survey in over 20 years. Dental care is available at no cost for children up to 18, with most public primary schools having a dental clinic and many regions operating mobile clinics.22 Overall, 1 in 2 children in New Zealand aged 2–17 years was caries-free. The caries rate for 5 year olds and 8 year olds in 2009 was 44.4% and 47.9% respectively.23These caries rates, which are higher than the US, United Kingdom, and Australia, help refute a presumption that utilization of non-dentist providers will overcome the disparities.
Gillies A. NZ children’s dental health still among worst. The New Zealand Herald. March 6, 2011. Available at: “http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10710408”. Accessed March 14, 2011.
New Zealand Ministry of Health. Age 5 and year 8 oral health. In: Our Oral Health: Key findings of the 2009 New Zealand Oral Health Survey. New Zealand, 2010. Available at: “http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/Files/oralhealth-statistics/$file/age5-year8-oral-health-data-from-school-dental-services-2009-v2.xls”. Accessed March 14, 2011.

17 “It is also worth noting the importance of having outreach and materials for both Medicaid and the insurance exchanges in multiple languages, given that 60.4 percent of the uninsured with low health literacy had limited English proficiency, as did 26.6 percent of the uninsured with adequate health literacy.” Tetine Sentell. Implications For Reform: Survey Of California Adults Suggests Low Health Literacy Predicts Likelihood Of Being Uninsured. Health Affairs, 31, no.5 (2012):1039-1044

18 “The Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) Program is a formal collaboration between the Navajo Nation Community Health Representative Program, the Gallup, Shiprock, Fort Defiance and Chinle Service Units of the Indian Health Service, and BWH’s Division of Global Health Equity.” Health Workers Help Navajo Patients COPE. Retrieved from http://www.knowledgeofmedicine.com/brigham-womens-hospital-boston/health-workers-help-navajo-patients-cope/

19 Dr. Oh’s testimony with Maine Watch, March 2012 (Retreived from http://www.mpbn.net/Television/LocalTelevisionPrograms/MaineWatch/tabid/477/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3470/ItemId/20955/Default.aspx). Dr. Oh stated, “On average the overhead for providing dental care is quite high; it’s about 65% that’s on a normal fee but [Medicaid] reimburses dentists at approximately 25% [or similar % in your state] of the usual and customary fees. So if it costs 65% percent to just cover your overhead, that fraction of a reimbursement you get is often a loss. There are many offices that would take [Medicaid] if the reimbursement is brought up to a sustainable level and that would be more fair to the patients and to the providers.”

20 “[In Connecticut, in 2007,] there were only 150 dentists who took their Medicaid program to provide dental benefits. The Connecticut legislature realized this and said we have to find a way to make this care sustainable. So, in 2008, they passed legislation to increase the reimbursement for their Medicaid dental procedures. Within a couple of years they went from 150 providers who were accepting Medicaid children to over 1,000. This wasn’t dentists who were worried about making money; this wasn’t about making the largest possible profit. This was just making sure that the care was reimbursed so that the dentist’s office would stay open and they could keep taking the patients.” (Dr. Oh, Maine Watch, March, 2012)

21 “The Maine Dental Association's own bill, called ‘An Act to Increase Access to Dental Care,’ has become law. Starting 2009, dentists became eligible to receive up to $15,000 in income tax credit annually-for up to five years as long as they practice in underserved areas.American Dental Association (ADA) Update, June 10, 2008 (Retrievable from www.ada.org).

22 "The new Commission on Dental Accreditation Standard 1-9, which requires that ‘the dental school must show evidence of interaction with other components of the higher education, health care education and/or health care delivery systems,’ will help guide more of our schools in this direction." American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Charting Progress. May 2012.